Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Timing and Twitter

From mom and pop stores to corporate chains, all companies
have sales and events. But small businesses don’t have the promotions resources
enjoyed by their larger competitors. Where your business lacks in national TV
spots it can thrive with the free services of Twitter.

Time-sensitivity is a common thread in all small
business’ sales and events. Take to Twitter to spread the word and draw a
crowd.

Sale Savviness in the
TwittersphereSales and promotions are a must of owning a small business,
whether you’re in retail, services or run a restaurant. Once you’ve built a
solid Twitter following, the network is ideal for inviting your customers to
take advantage of your special offers.

Daily promotions require daily tweeting. If your pub
offers nightly draft specials, or your consignment shop has a discount item of
the day, fire out the relevant tweet the morning or afternoon of the offer. “Come
in for today’s IPA Pick, Newport Storm India Point Ale!”
or “Half-off Orange Tag items! Today only!” Make sure you include any relevant
hours, such as opening and close times.

More focused events, such as holiday sales, require more
planning and more Tweets. Whether the sale is a day long or runs for a week, you
want to give your followers ample notice of the event while avoiding an
overlong bombardment of reminders.

Two days before the event kicks off, start tweeting at
the relevant high use hours. 3-4 tweets
a day should be just right to pique followers’ interest. Don’t copy and paste
the same content for multi-tweet campaigns. Highlight a different item, service
or point of interest with each post. Use Twit Pics to give users a feel for
what you offer. If the promotion runs several days, send out Tweets over its
duration and stress when it will be ending.

Optimal Tweeting
Times

According to Twitter itself, the heaviest use of the
network takes place at 9AM, noon, 3PM and 6PM. For maximum effect, post your
event information during these time windows. Otherwise you risk your tweets
being buried under the pile of relatively unseen posts created outside of these
peak hours.

Tweeting
for On-the-Go Businesses

Not all businesses have a fixed location. Food trucks might
be a common sight on your street’s curb. These road-bound restaurants need to communicate
their schedule with sidewalk diners, and Twitter is the perfect vehicle.

The RI Food Trucks Twitter list compiles numerous tweets per
day from various Ocean State food trucks. From Mama Kim’s Korean BBQ to Plouf
Gastronomie to Rocket Street Food, this list tells followers where and when their
favorite nomadic meal provider will be serving.

The list generally gives an hour’s notice of a truck’s
arrival and its designated intersection. This gives the lunch hour crowd time
to plan ahead. Consider this tweeting method if your small business
incorporates street teams or traveling promotions.

In
Summation

Twitter is a free gift that keeps on giving to small
businesses on a shoe string advertising budget. Its massive popularity and
potential will give your company a fresh and viable web visibility. You put
yourself out there on your time; you just have to get the timing down.

Once you’ve mastered the art of timing and Twitter, you
just might find an entire new customer base clamouring for your products and
services.